Edward L. Gaylord Downtown YMCA

I was blessed with the opportunity to work out here through their LiveStrong program. My best friend is fighting a very aggressive cancer and heard about this program through her network. Tamra, who runs the LiveStrong program at the Y, registered her and a supportive friend (i.e. — me) and we got to work out together to help those who are fighting or recovering from cancer gain strength, mobility, and some motivation.
First of all, this Y is very impressive and clean. Every staff member and gym member had a smile on their face every day! So this alone would be worth a 5 star rating. Their water aerobics kicked my butt and impressed the socks off me. This, too, would be worth a 5 star rating.
BUT … the fact that they gave hope to those who may have lost hope along the way throug a program such as Livestrong gains them a zillion star rating. I only wish I could give them more …
Thank you Edward L. Gaylord Downton YMCA for your dedication to the community and cancer survivors and fighters!

This was my home plate gym for the past three years. It seems to be struggling from a crippled budget as of recent.
Pros:
— A fabulously convenient location for those that live/​work downtown
— Ample parking: street, parking lot, and empty field behind parking lot
— Towel service!
— Plenty of locker room space
— Excellent group fitness classes and instructors
— Little fitness challenge programs if you need motivation
— Swim classes for kiddos
Cons:
— Dirty. Took a shower there for the first time recently, and the walls and drains were so dirty that I didn’t want to touch ANYTHING. Even deployment showers weren’t as dirty as this.
— This is not an ideal gym for meatheads. Weight room is very small.
— The biggest heartburn I have is the state of their cable machines and lack of cable grips. They keep disappearing, and it’s just in shambles.
— Mic system in group fitness room doesn’t work half of the time.
— Don’t trust the personal trainers. Sure, some are genuinely qualified, but I have seen some terrible personal training on multiple occasions when form is completely compromised for the number on the weight stack. Too many times I’ve seen people’s form completely crumple under the struggle of too much free weight, and the trainer says nothing.
Great location, but I get frustrated with equipment whenever I lift here. (I have submitted comment cards, btw.) On the surface, this place gets by, but deep down it’s struggling to keep up with the standards of a quality gym.

Favorite Y location in the city. Parking is convenient, and MOST of the time easy to find. The staff is friendly and helpful if you ever have questions. The locker room/​showers/​bathrooms are always clean as well as the general facility. The equipment is really new and there are plenty of machines. I’ve never been in a situation where I had to wait. The pool is also nice. My favorite part is this Y has a wet and dry sauna. Perfect after a workout. The indoor track is above the basketball courts which can make for a less boring run. It isn’t a small track around the workout room like the Edmond location. The group classes are also great, with good instructors and spacious rooms. The times of classes are pretty convenient, as far as early morning and after work. I wish there were more! It seems that many that I want to go to are in the middle of the day. Overall, the mix of people coming to work out is awesome, ranging in all abilities. Some gyms make it feel like you’re out of place because you aren’t at peak physical strength but at the Y, everyone is doing their own thing. This Y also has a very large child care facility, although I have never used it. I can’t imagine a better mix for a gym!

I love the downtown YMCA. I go after 5 PM two to three days a week and I have never had a problem. Their classes are great — I have regularly attended Zumba, Yoga and Water aerobics at this location. I use the machines also and can always find a treadmill unless it’s the two months before the Memorial marathon.
The only downside is that if you drive it’s hard to find parking and if you park in the lot across from 4^th street it’s really hard to cross the street between 5:00 and 5:30 during rush hour.

It sucks being the one bad review. But I was completely unimpressed with how this Y is run by the staff. The Personal Trainers made me feel like it was a chore to train me. Even after I paid for a few hundred dollars worth of sessions. I always had to cater my schedule around my trainer. Which is completely ridiculous considering the amount of money I paid for sessions. Canceling my membership was another disaster. It seems the membership director (Brandi Bradford) has absolutely zero tolerance for customers who complain to her for being wrongfully charged.
I would highly suggest going to a locally owned gym downtown where the owners and staff actually care about their customers.

I love the aura of this place. Somehow, it reminds of my university gym. My favorite part of the gym so far is the elevated «sky» track. I jogged for the first time in probably a month or two. It was exhilarating. I think I was motivated by the cool factor.
I will update more as I attend the classes and try out the cardio and weight areas.

My favorite YMCA in the Metro. Okay Earlywine is fancy-​schmancy newish, but sprawling. The new Edmond Y is the same and has massive swimming pools but the same rotten hours for regular folks. The old Edmond Y has a lovely exercise area that almost seems like a livingroom it is so dark and small (but still managing to have a lot of TVs). Midwest city Y tries hard and is going to be worked on soon so maybe it will stop being scary. The Y in Bethany is the same as midwest city but it has espresso bikes (offline) and geese. Northside has recumbant (just for laughing at). The main Norman Y out by the airfield feels like a massive machine room. Also the glare from the windows behind you make it hard to see the TVs. Yeah, I’m all about the TVs. I hate to exercise so the TVs are my crutch. So it matters. All of this leads me to the downtown Y in OKC. It’s crowded now and then but they have everything I want. Bikes online, lots of treadmills, cosy but efficient, clean, and the TVs. The women’s showers are that double curtain kind you find at Earlywine so you can hang your stuff up and even get dressed in there (makes the process soooo much faster). No one needs to see me naked! Note: save yourself a lot of parking grief and pay $ 10 for a sticker and the code so you can park in the garage across the street (North) from now on.

Great place to workout especially if you’re from out of town. Price is $ 10 if you’re staying at a nearby hotel with photo ID and hotel room key.
Place is clean & decent and the staff is very friendly and knowledgable. Lots of cardio machines and free weights for a YMCA. Basketball court is also a nice touch.
Overall a great out of town workout experience in OKC.

I really love the Downtown Y, though you’d never know it to look at my attendance record! They have lots of cardio machines and weight machines, and their computerized system allows you to log all your workouts if you so choose. They have lots of TVs that you can tune into, and it’s not meat market-​y.
They offer a lot of classes, I’ve done yoga, Pilates, kickboxing, Body Pump, sculpting classes, and they’ve all been challenging, fun, and very professional. I shared a personal training session with my sister yesterday and it was a really great workout. I think I’ve thought of a personal trainer as something you earn once you’ve been keeping up with a workout program. I am such a dummy — this is exactly the accountability and motivation I’ve been lacking. Paying for it means I won’t miss a session and once I get into the habit of working out and I learn some good stuff, maybe I’ll be able to stick to a program of my own. Man it takes me a long time to figure stuff out sometimes.
This Y always seems exceptionally clean; it’s a fairly new building as far as Downtown goes, and the employees and members take pride in it and take care of it. Parking can be a bit of a challenge, but if you have to park far, weren’t you coming here to workout anyway? :)
Got kids? I think if I had kids I’d want them here for all kinds of camps, classes, and to get used to and comfortable with some fun fitness things. (Side note: I think it should be illegal for teachers to use running laps as punishment, just an aside.)
With a wonderful indoor pool and hot tub, saunas and nice locker rooms (I guess I can only speak to the women’s locker room though), I’d say this is as nice of gym as you can ask for in a Y. If you want to pay the money for a full-​on health club, I’m sure there are some nicer amenities, but the Y suits me just fine.

We really enjoy this gym, it’s a lot better than our old gym in Yukon. I usually head there after work, around six pm, and have always been able to get on whatever machine I want!
The only small qualm that I have with the place is the parking. Even though they have a private lot, sometimes you end up having to stalk people for their parking place. Lucky for me, I got a lot of practice at that whenever I went to OU, so it’s not too bad!
They also have great personal trainers and some good classes to help kick you butt into shape! All around I am really happy with the downtown Y. If you are looking for a good place to go, head on over there and take it for a spin!

My health insurance provides what they call a fitness plan: $ 25/​mo. for several gyms in the OKC Metro, including all the YMCAs. This is the closest to my work and has become my regular gym. Here’ the rundown:
— Cardio area: Clean, open, and cool. By cool I mean literally. I hate nothing more than a gym that opts to be a sweatbox. Sweating is a reality in a workout, but the overhead fans keep you from looking like your socks feel after a run. I’ve never had to wait for a machine, and there’s enough TVs that you can choose your distraction.
— Classes: I have only taken Yoga, but have been impressed with the many offerings. I have had pleasant, professional instructors who modify your stance as needed while teaching you the fundamentals.
— Trainers: I have been seeing Krystal for 5 weeks now and we are friends for life. And by friends I mean she kicks my rumpus every Monday, but my disappearing flabby spots tell me that this is love. Purchase multiple sessions for a discount, the Wellness Coordinator will help you find a trainer that works for your goals and schedule.
— Locker rooms: $ 5/​mo gets you a shoebox to keep your toiletries in, can snag a full size for free. Bring your own lock, and make sure you allow plenty of time to get it all squared away when renting one.
— Front desk staff: This has so far been the worst part of my experience. Since I’m on a plan that denotes me as «not a full member» (but with full member benefits), each training session purchase and locker rental has been a frustrating headache where I end up feeling like a burden on them. I have also heard the girls complain openly about their boss, the facility and customers. I am yet to have a tour and I finally asked on my 7^th visit if they needed to take my picture for the check in.
Overall, I am ecstatic I found this Y and I actually look forward to going, but I’m all to happy to punch in my number and jog past the guardians of the front!